Top 5,000 Vocabulary Words U - Z

Top 5,000 Vocabulary Words

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Alphabetical list shows definitions, similarities (bibliography, bibliophile) and differences (aggravate, aggregate) at-a-glance for easy review.

Understand more words to improve reading comprehension & grades Speak and write more accurately, persuasively, and impressively. 

ubiquitous (adj.) Being present everywhere.

ulterior (adj.) Not so pertinent as something else to the matter spoken of.

ultimate (adj.) Beyond which there is nothing else.

ultimatum (n.) A final statement or proposal, as concerning terms or conditions.

ultramundane (adj.) Pertaining to supernatural things or to another life.

ultramontane (adj.) Beyond the mountains, especially beyond the Alps (that is, on their Italian side).

umbrage (n.) A sense of injury.

unaccountable (adj.) Inexplicable.

unaffected (adj.) Sincere.

unanimous (adj.) Sharing the same views or sentiments.

unanimity (n.) The state or quality of being of one mind.

unavoidable (adj.) Inevitable.

unbearable (adj.) Unendurable.

unbecoming (adj.) Unsuited to the wearer, place, or surroundings.

unbelief (n.) Doubt.

unbiased (adj.) Impartial, as judgment.

unbridled (adj.) Being without restraint.

uncommon (adj.) Rare.

unconscionable (adj.) Ridiculously or unjustly excessive.

unconscious (adj.) Not cognizant of objects, actions, etc.

unction (n.) The art of anointing as with oil.

unctuous (adj.) Oily.

undeceive (v.) To free from deception, as by apprising of the real state of affairs.

undercharge (v.) To make an inadequate charge for.

underexposed (adj.) Insufficiently exposed for proper or full development, as negatives in photography.

undergarment (n.) A garment to be worn under the ordinary outer garments.

underman (v.) To equip with less than the full complement of men.

undersell (v.) To sell at a lower price than.

undersized (adj.) Of less than the customary size.

underhanded (adj.) Clandestinely carried on.

underlie (v.) To be the ground or support of.

underling (n.) A subordinate.

undermine (v.) To subvert in an underhand way.

underrate (v.) To undervalue.

understate (v.) To fail to put strongly enough, as a case.

undervalue (v.) To underestimate.

underworld (n.) Hades.

underwrite (v.) To issue or be party to the issue of a policy of insurance.

undue (adj.) More than sufficient.

undulate (v.) To move like a wave or in waves.

undulous (adj.) Resembling waves.

unfavorable (adj.) Adverse.

ungainly (adj.) Clumsy.

unguent (n.) Any ointment or lubricant for local application.

unicellular (adj.) Consisting of a single cell.

univalence (n.) Monovalency.

unify (v.) To cause to be one.

unique (adj.) Being the only one of its kind.

unison (n.) A condition of perfect agreement and accord.

unisonant (adj.) Being in a condition of perfect agreement and accord.

Unitarian (adj.) Pertaining to a religious body that rejects the doctrine of the Trinity.

unlawful (adj.) Illegal.

unlimited (adj.) Unconstrained.

unnatural (adj.) Artificial.

unnecessary (adj.) Not essential under the circumstances.

unsettle (v.) To put into confusion.

unsophisticated (adj.) Showing inexperience.

unspeakable (adj.) Abominable.

untimely (adj.) Unseasonable.

untoward (adj.) Causing annoyance or hindrance.

unutterable (adj.) Inexpressible.

unwieldy (adj.) Moved or managed with difficulty, as from great size or awkward shape.

unwise (adj.) Foolish.

unyoke (v.) To separate.

up-keep (n.) Maintenance.

upbraid (v.) To reproach as deserving blame.

upcast (n.) A throwing upward.

upheaval (n.) Overthrow or violent disturbance of established order or condition.

upheave (v.) To raise or lift with effort.

uppermost (adj.) First in order of precedence.

uproarious (adj.) Noisy.

uproot (v.) To eradicate.

upturn (v.) To throw into confusion.

urban (adj.) Of, or pertaining to, or like a city.

urbanity (n.) Refined or elegant courtesy.

urchin (n.) A roguish, mischievous boy.

urgency (n.) The pressure of necessity.

usage (n.) Treatment.

usurious (adj.) Taking unlawful or exorbitant interest on money loaned.

usurp (v.) To take possession of by force.

usury (n.) The demanding for the use of money as a loan, a rate of interest beyond what is allowed by law.

utilitarianism (n.) The ethical doctrine that actions are right because they are useful or of beneficial tendency.

utility (n.) Fitness for some desirable practical purpose.

utmost (n.) The greatest possible extent.

vacate (v.) To leave.

vaccinate (v.) To inoculate with vaccine virus or virus of cowpox.

vacillate (v.) To waver.

vacuous (adj.) Empty.

vacuum (n.) A space entirely devoid of matter.

vagabond (n.) A wanderer.

vagrant (n.) An idle wanderer.

vainglory (n.) Excessive, pretentious, and demonstrative vanity.

vale (n.) Level or low land between hills.

valediction (n.) A bidding farewell.

valedictorian (n.) Student who delivers an address at graduating exercises of an educational institution.

valedictory (n.) A parting address.

valid (adj.) Founded on truth.

valorous (adj.) Courageous.

vapid (adj.) Having lost sparkling quality and flavor.

vaporizer (n.) An atomizer.

variable (adj.) Having a tendency to change.

variance (n.) Change.

variant (n.) A thing that differs from another in form only, being the same in essence or substance.

variation (n.) Modification.

variegate (v.) To mark with different shades or colors.

vassal (n.) A slave or bondman.

vaudeville (n.) A variety show.

vegetal (adj.) Of or pertaining to plants.

vegetarian (n.) One who believes in the theory that man's food should be exclusively vegetable.

vegetate (v.) To live in a monotonous, passive way without exercise of the mental faculties.

vegetation (n.) Plant-life in the aggregate.

vegetative (adj.) Pertaining to the process of plant-life.

vehement (adj.) Very eager or urgent.

velocity (n.) Rapid motion.

velvety (adj.) Marked by lightness and softness.

venal (adj.) Mercenary, corrupt.

vendible (adj.) Marketable.

vendition (n.) The act of selling.

vendor (n.) A seller.

veneer (n.) Outside show or elegance.

venerable (adj.) Meriting or commanding high esteem.

venerate (v.) To cherish reverentially.

venereal (adj.) Pertaining to or proceeding from sexual intercourse.

venial (adj.) That may be pardoned or forgiven, a forgivable sin.

venison (n.) The flesh of deer.

venom (n.) The poisonous fluid that certain animals secrete.

venous (adj.) Of, pertaining to, or contained or carried in a vein or veins.

veracious (adj.) Habitually disposed to speak the truth.

veracity (n.) Truthfulness.

verbatim (adv.) Word for word.

verbiage (n.) Use of many words without necessity.

verbose (adj.) Wordy.

verdant (adj.) Green with vegetation.

verification (n.) The act of proving to be true, exact, or accurate.

verify (v.) To prove to be true, exact, or accurate.

verily (adv.) In truth.

verity (n.) Truth.

vermin (n.) A noxious or troublesome animal.

vernacular (n.) The language of one's country.

vernal (adj.) Belonging to or suggestive of the spring.

versatile (adj.) Having an aptitude for applying oneself to new and varied tasks or to various subjects.

version (n.) A description or report of something as modified by one's character or opinion.

vertex (n.) Apex.

vertical (adj.) Lying or directed perpendicularly to the horizon.

vertigo (n.) Dizziness.

vestige (n.) A visible trace, mark, or impression, of something absent, lost, or gone.

vestment (n.) Clothing or covering.

veto (n.) The constitutional right in a chief executive of refusing to approve an enactment.

vicarious (adj.) Suffered or done in place of or for the sake of another.

viceroy (n.) A ruler acting with royal authority in place of the sovereign in a colony or province.

vicissitude (n.) A change, especially a complete change, of condition or circumstances, as of fortune.

vie (v.) To contend.

vigilance (n.) Alert and intent mental watchfulness in guarding against danger.

vigilant (adj.) Being on the alert to discover and ward off danger or insure safety.

vignette (n.) A picture having a background or that is shaded off gradually.

vincible (adj.) Conquerable.

vindicate (v.) To prove true, right, or real.

vindicatory (adj.) Punitive.

vindicative (adj.) Revengeful.

vinery (n.) A greenhouse for grapes.

viol (n.) A stringed instrument of the violin class.

viola (n.) A musical instrument somewhat larger than a violin.

violator (n.) One who transgresses.

violation (n.) Infringement.

violoncello (n.) A stringed instrument held between the player's knees.

virago (n.) A bold, impudent, turbulent woman.

virile (adj.) Masculine.

virtu (n.) Rare, curious, or beautiful quality.

virtual (adj.) Being in essence or effect, but not in form or appearance.

virtuoso (n.) A master in the technique of some particular fine art.

virulence (n.) Extreme poisonousness.

virulent (adj.) Exceedingly noxious or deleterious.

visage (n.) The face, countenance, or look of a person.

viscount (n.) In England, a title of nobility, ranking fourth in the order of British peerage.

vista (n.) A view or prospect.

visual (adj.) Perceptible by sight.

visualize (v.) To give pictorial vividness to a mental representation.

vitality (n.) The state or quality of being necessary to existence or continuance.

vitalize (v.) To endow with life or energy.

vitiate (v.) To contaminate.

vituperable (adj.) Deserving of censure.

vivacity (n.) Liveliness.

vivify (v.) To endue with life.

vivisection (n.) The dissection of a living animal.

vocable (n.) a word, especially one regarded in relation merely to its qualities of sound.

vocative (adj.) Of or pertaining to the act of calling.

vociferance (n.) The quality of making a clamor.

vociferate (v.) To utter with a loud and vehement voice.

vociferous (adj.) Making a loud outcry.

vogue (n.) The prevalent way or fashion.

volant (adj.) Flying or able to fly.

volatile (adj.) Changeable.

volition (n.) An act or exercise of will.

volitive (adj.) Exercising the will.

voluble (adj.) Having great fluency in speaking.

voluptuous (adj.) having fullness of beautiful form, as a woman, with or without sensuous or sensual quality.

voracious (adj.) Eating with greediness or in very large quantities.

vortex (n.) A mass of rotating or whirling fluid, especially when sucked spirally toward the center.

votary (adj.) Consecrated by a vow or promise.

votive (adj.) Dedicated by a vow.

vulgarity (n.) Lack of refinement in conduct or speech.

vulnerable (adj.) Capable of receiving injuries.

waif (n.) A homeless, neglected wanderer.

waistcoat (n.) A vest.

waive (v.) To relinquish, especially temporarily, as a right or claim.

wampum (n.) Beads strung on threads, formerly used among the American Indians as currency.

wane (v.) To diminish in size and brilliancy.

wantonness (n.) Recklessness.

warlike (adj.) Belligerent.

wavelet (n.) A ripple.

weak-kneed (adj.) Without resolute purpose or energy.

weal (n.) Well-being.

wean (v.) To transfer (the young) from dependence on mother's milk to another form of nourishment.

wearisome (adj.) Fatiguing.

wee (adj.) Very small.

well-bred (adj.) Of good ancestry.

well-doer (n.) A performer of moral and social duties.

well-to-do (adj.) In prosperous circumstances.

whereabouts (n.) The place in or near which a person or thing is.

whereupon (adv.) After which.

wherever (adv.) In or at whatever place.

wherewith (n.) The necessary means or resources.

whet (v.) To make more keen or eager.

whimsical (adj.) Capricious.

whine (v.) To utter with complaining tone.

wholly (adv.) Completely.

wield (v.) To use, control, or manage, as a weapon, or instrument, especially with full command.

wile (n.) An act or a means of cunning deception.

winsome (adj.) Attractive.

wintry (adj.) Lacking warmth of manner.

wiry (adj.) Thin, but tough and sinewy.

witchcraft (n.) Sorcery.

witless (adj.) Foolish, indiscreet, or silly.

witling (n.) A person who has little understanding.

witticism (n.) A witty, brilliant, or original saying or sentiment.

wittingly (adv.) With knowledge and by design.

wizen (v.) To become or cause to become withered or dry.

wizen-faced (adj.) Having a shriveled face.

working-man (n.) One who earns his bread by manual labor.

workmanlike (adj.) Like or befitting a skilled workman.

workmanship (n.) The art or skill of a workman.

wrangle (v.) To maintain by noisy argument or dispute.

wreak (v.) To inflict, as a revenge or punishment.

wrest (v.) To pull or force away by or as by violent twisting or wringing.

wretchedness (n.) Extreme misery or unhappiness.

writhe (v.) To twist the body, face, or limbs or as in pain or distress.

writing (n.) The act or art of tracing or inscribing on a surface letters or ideographs.

wry (adj.) Deviating from that which is proper or right.

yearling (n.) A young animal past its first year and not yet two years old.

zealot (n.) One who espouses a cause or pursues an object in an immoderately partisan manner.

zeitgeist (n.) The intellectual and moral tendencies that characterize any age or epoch.

zenith (n.) The culminating-point of prosperity, influence, or greatness.

zephyr (n.) Any soft, gentle wind.

zodiac (n.) An imaginary belt encircling the heavens within which are the larger planets.

zealot (n.) One who espouses a cause or pursues an object in an immoderately partisan manner.

zeitgeist (n.) The intellectual and moral tendencies that characterize any age or epoch.

zenith (n.) The culminating-point of prosperity, influence, or greatness.

zephyr (n.) Any soft, gentle wind.

zodiac (n.) An imaginary belt encircling the heavens within which are the larger planets.